Bill Text: CA SB1145 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Animal fighting.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2012-07-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 133, Statutes of 2012. [SB1145 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB1145-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1145	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Emmerson

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2012

   An act to amend Sections 597b and 597c of the Penal Code, relating
to animal fighting.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1145, as introduced, Emmerson. Animal fighting.
   Existing law prohibits a person, for amusement or gain, from
causing, permitting on his or her premises, or aiding and abetting in
the fighting of specified animals. A violation of this prohibition
is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a
period not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed $5,000, or
by both.
   This bill would raise the fine to $10,000.
   Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly be present as a
spectator at any place, building, or tenement for an exhibition of
animal fighting or for preparations for that act. A violation of this
prohibition is punishable by imprisonment in a county for a period
not to exceed 6 months, or by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by
both.
   This bill would raise the fine to $5,000.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 597b of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   597b.  (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), any
person who, for amusement or gain, causes any bull, bear, or other
animal, not including any dog, to fight with like kind of animal or
creature, or causes any animal, including any dog, to fight with a
different kind of animal or creature, or with any human being, or
who, for amusement or gain, worries or injures any bull, bear, dog,
or other animal, or causes any bull, bear, or other animal, not
including any dog, to worry or injure each other, or any person who
permits the same to be done on any premises under his or her charge
or control, or any person who aids or abets the fighting or worrying
of an animal or creature, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by
a fine not to exceed  five thousand dollars ($5,000)
  ten thousand dollars ($10,000)  , or by both that
imprisonment and fine.
   (b) Any person who, for amusement or gain, causes any cock to
fight with another cock or with a different kind of animal or
creature or with any human being; or who, for amusement or gain,
worries or injures any cock, or causes any cock to worry or injure
another animal; and any person who permits the same to be done on any
premises under his or her charge or control, and any person who aids
or abets the fighting or worrying of any cock is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period
not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed  five
thousand dollars ($5,000)   ten thousand dollars
($10,000)  , or by both that imprisonment and fine.
   (c) A second or subsequent conviction of this section is a
misdemeanor or a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail
for a period not to exceed one year or the state prison for 16
months, two, or three years, by a fine not to exceed twenty-five
thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine,
except in unusual circumstances in which the interests of justice
would be better served by the imposition of a lesser sentence.
   (d) For the purposes of this section, aiding and abetting a
violation of this section shall consist of something more than merely
being present or a spectator at a place where a violation is
occurring.
  SEC. 2.  Section 597c of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   597c.  Any person who is knowingly present as a spectator at any
place, building, or tenement for an exhibition of animal fighting, or
who is knowingly present at that exhibition or is knowingly present
where preparations are being made for the acts described in
subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 597b, is guilty of a misdemeanor
 punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to
exceed six months, or by a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000), or
by both that imprisonment and fine  .